In solar plants of the concentration type, it is known to use curved support structures to support a plurality of reflection plates made of glass or other suitable material, thin and flexible, able to reflect the sun's rays to concentrate them in suitable collectors, advantageously present on the structure, so as to exploit the solar energy.
The reflection plates are associated, either flat or curved in advance, with the support structure by means of clamping elements provided in at least one of the two opposite edges of the support structure and able to clamp the reflection plates on the structure and to conform them according to a desired parabolic shape.
The clamping elements comprise mobile means, such as a structural shape associated with the edges of the structure, able to be moved from a first position, in which the reflection plates, originally substantially flat, are associated with the support structure, to a second position, in which the mobile means deform the flat reflection plates, exerting compression forces on the opposite edges of each plate.
In this way, the plates are deformed to conform them to the curve of the profile defined by the support structure.
This allows to clamp the reflection plates in the deformed position with the support structure, or vice versa, to remove the plates from the structure.
One disadvantage of known support structures is that the current clamping means provide complex combinations of screws, springs, levers or other which, apart from making the operations to install/remove the reflection plates long and expensive, also have relatively high production costs, and problems with maintenance over time.
Moreover, known clamping means are difficult to adjust in order to vary the degree of deformation of the plate and, in any case, they do not allow an accurate adjustment due to the plays of assembly and possible deformations in size also due to variations in temperature.
Known support structures are described in documents U.S. Pat. No. 4,139,270 and DE-U-20318080.
One purpose of the present invention is to achieve a support structure for solar plants that will allow a simple and rapid installation and optimum attachment of the reflection plates, and which also allows simple and rapid operations to maintain and replace them.
Another purpose is to allow accurate adjustments, also after assembly, to improve and/modify the capacity of concentrating the radiant energy.
The Applicant has devised, tested and embodied the present invention to overcome the shortcomings of the state of the art and to obtain these and other purposes and advantages.